(no subject)
Title: It's No Cause For Concern
Fandom: Lost
Characters/Pairings: Sayid, Juliet
Word Count: 536
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: #89 - Work for
fanfic100
Summary: Spoilers for 4.03 - The Economist. It's the situation that's forced a connection upon them. Business as usual.
He finds her in a café much like the one he found Elsa in. Except she isn’t there to kill him, nor him her. She tends to pop up from time to time; it’s not like he’s surprised.
“Hello Sayid,” she’s already seated, coffee steaming off to the side, newspaper laid out in front of her.
He acknowledges her with a nod, the same nod he gives to the waitress when she takes his order. She doesn’t seem to care, her eyes focused on the tiny print in front of her. Her fingers are stained grey with ink; she’s been here awhile. He wonders if she’s waiting for him or if she’s just here on business.
“You seem to have healed up nicely.”
Business. It has to be business or she wouldn’t be talking to Ben. She avoids him as much as possible. “It was only a minor injury.”
Juliet gives him a doubtful look. “That’s not what I heard.”
Clearly she’s playing games today. He leans ever so slightly forward as he asks, “What do you want?”
There isn’t even a hint of surprise in her face, though the corners of her lips pull down. “A lot of things. You can’t give me any of them.”
He leans back in his chair. “Then why are you here?”
“If I said I wanted to see you would you think I was lying?”
“Yes.”
She nods; it’s what she thought. “I’m here to see Ben.”
“This is not a place he frequents.” Sayid points out.
“No but it’s one that you do.” And just like that they’re back to her original statement posed as a question. She’s here to see him.
“And yet there’s nothing I have that you want.”
“Nothing tangible anyway.” Juliet doesn’t give straightforward answers. “Maybe I just wanted to remind myself that I’m not the only one in this position.”
“We are not in the same situation.”
She shrugs, the edge of her silk shirt slides on her shoulder with the movement. “What difference does an ocean make?”
“I’m not talking about location.”
She stops making eye contact with him. “You think I can just up and leave whenever I want don’t you?”
He won’t lie. He’s losing his taste for it. “Yes, I do.”
“You could too you know.” She plays with the pages of the paper, runs her fingers along the fraying edge. “You could leave. He won’t kill you.”
“This isn’t about me.” These are all things he already knows.
Juliet looks back up at him. “Exactly.”
Which means he has something of hers. Someone. He’s holding some power over her by threatening the lives of others. People like them, they would die if it was for the right cause, their own mortality matter little in the scheme of things. But the mortality of people they care for is another story entirely.
He will not ask. It’s not his place. Part of him doesn’t even want to know. They aren’t especially close, not really, it’s the situation that’s forced this connection upon them. Business as usual.
For people who fought so hard to leave that island it’s devastating to realize that all they did was trade one prison for another.
Fandom: Lost
Characters/Pairings: Sayid, Juliet
Word Count: 536
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: #89 - Work for
fanfic100
Summary: Spoilers for 4.03 - The Economist. It's the situation that's forced a connection upon them. Business as usual.
He finds her in a café much like the one he found Elsa in. Except she isn’t there to kill him, nor him her. She tends to pop up from time to time; it’s not like he’s surprised.
“Hello Sayid,” she’s already seated, coffee steaming off to the side, newspaper laid out in front of her.
He acknowledges her with a nod, the same nod he gives to the waitress when she takes his order. She doesn’t seem to care, her eyes focused on the tiny print in front of her. Her fingers are stained grey with ink; she’s been here awhile. He wonders if she’s waiting for him or if she’s just here on business.
“You seem to have healed up nicely.”
Business. It has to be business or she wouldn’t be talking to Ben. She avoids him as much as possible. “It was only a minor injury.”
Juliet gives him a doubtful look. “That’s not what I heard.”
Clearly she’s playing games today. He leans ever so slightly forward as he asks, “What do you want?”
There isn’t even a hint of surprise in her face, though the corners of her lips pull down. “A lot of things. You can’t give me any of them.”
He leans back in his chair. “Then why are you here?”
“If I said I wanted to see you would you think I was lying?”
“Yes.”
She nods; it’s what she thought. “I’m here to see Ben.”
“This is not a place he frequents.” Sayid points out.
“No but it’s one that you do.” And just like that they’re back to her original statement posed as a question. She’s here to see him.
“And yet there’s nothing I have that you want.”
“Nothing tangible anyway.” Juliet doesn’t give straightforward answers. “Maybe I just wanted to remind myself that I’m not the only one in this position.”
“We are not in the same situation.”
She shrugs, the edge of her silk shirt slides on her shoulder with the movement. “What difference does an ocean make?”
“I’m not talking about location.”
She stops making eye contact with him. “You think I can just up and leave whenever I want don’t you?”
He won’t lie. He’s losing his taste for it. “Yes, I do.”
“You could too you know.” She plays with the pages of the paper, runs her fingers along the fraying edge. “You could leave. He won’t kill you.”
“This isn’t about me.” These are all things he already knows.
Juliet looks back up at him. “Exactly.”
Which means he has something of hers. Someone. He’s holding some power over her by threatening the lives of others. People like them, they would die if it was for the right cause, their own mortality matter little in the scheme of things. But the mortality of people they care for is another story entirely.
He will not ask. It’s not his place. Part of him doesn’t even want to know. They aren’t especially close, not really, it’s the situation that’s forced this connection upon them. Business as usual.
For people who fought so hard to leave that island it’s devastating to realize that all they did was trade one prison for another.